Process Monitoring & Controls
Have a critical process that demands accurate measurement of oxygen? Perhaps the process needs to be accurately controlled based on the measurement of oxygen. Alpha Omega Instruments has the solution.
See Products By Application
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Critical welding requires inert gas with no oxygen | Many welding applications require the use of inert gases that are free of oxygen. Excess oxygen promotes poor welds due to oxidation | Argon, Helium, N₂ | Trace or Percent |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measure CO2 and O2 in fermentors | Bio reactors frequently must be kept under tight control with respect to both oxygen and carbon dioxide | Modified Atmosphere | Percent O2 and Percent CO2 |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monitoring of Glove Box Atmospheres | Many experiments performed under controlled or inert atmospheres must be done under low oxygen conditions. | Argon, Nitrogen | Percent or Trace |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sick Building Syndrome | Carbon Dioxide is often measured as an indicator of the quality of the breathing air in offices, commercial establishments, parking garages, etc. | Breathing Air | Carbon Dioxide Range (0-5,000 ppm) |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hydrogen Production by Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Hydrocarbons | Hydrocarbons are reacted with steam over a catalyst to produce gas containing H2, which can be used as a synthesis gas or the H2 can be separated & purified. | H₂ | Trace | |
| Transportation of Bulk Industrial Gases | Bulk gases are transferred to tanker trucks or transported via pipeline for delivery to end users. | Argon, Hydrocarbons, H₂, Mixtures, Nitrogen, N₂, Silo Gas (CO₂, NO₂, NO) | Trace |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preserve oxygen sensitive materials | Monitor the percent oxygen in chambers and/or glove boxes that contain oxygen sensitive components. | Argon, Helium, H₂, N₂ | Percent |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing of latex and related chemicals | To determine O2 in the chemicals by spraying them into a nitrogen-free atmosphere and measuring the O2 content. | N₂ | Trace or Percent | |
| Inert gas blanketing of processes/reactor vessels and purging of chemicals | Many processes involve chemicals that will react with O2 contamination to have harmful effects on the end product. Inerting with N2 is usually required. | N₂ | Trace or Percent |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inert gas blanketing of stored raw materials and finished chemical products | Tanks, trucks and other storage vessels are filled with an inert gas to protect the stored chemicals from O2. | N₂ | Trace or Percent |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stack Gas Analysis | Measure efficiency of combustion process | Flue Gas | Percent |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switch boxes and electrical enclosures that require back filling with SF6 | Excessive levels or oxygen can cause arcing and be a fore bearer of corrosion within transformers | SF6 | Trace |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammonia (NH3) production | H2 & N2 are combined 3:1 ratio to produce NH3. There are many sources of H2, including steam reforming of natural gas, partial oxidation, etc. | H₂, N₂ | Trace |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Determine optimum transmission parameters | Transmission of signals at different wavelengths are affected by the presence or absence of humidity and oxygen. | N₂ | Trace |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measurement of oxygen in landfill gases | Measurement of oxygen is used to help assess the quality of the landfill gases that are used to power incinerators and boilers | Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Methane, N₂ | Percent |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glove Box | Ensure gas used to back fill bulbs are devoid of oxygen. | Argon, Helium, N₂ | Trace |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRI Installations | Monitor quality of breathing air to ensure that the cryogenic gases used to cool the MRI magnets don’t deplete the breathing air oxygen in confined spaces | Air | Percent 20.9% |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sintering | Powdered metal is pressed into shapes and heated to >2000 degrees F for hours in an inert atmosphere, to increase bulk density and other properties. | H₂, N₂ | Trace | |
| Specialty Welding | The welding parts are done under inert conditions using either nitrogen, argon, or helium gas to provide a protective atmosphere. | Argon, Helium, N₂ | Trace | |
| Bright Annealing | For certain steel alloying processes pure nitrogen atmospheres are required. So is the case in hot rolling mills. | H₂, N₂ | Trace | |
| Steel Production | Many experiments performed under controlled or inert atmospheres must be done under low oxygen conditions. | Argon, Nitrogen, N₂ | Percent and Trace |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waste Gas Monitoring at Nuclear Power Plants | Monitoring inlet and outlet gas from recombiner. Percent O2 and H2 are measured at inlet to ecombine- er. O2 in ppm is measured at outlet of recombiner. | Argon, Helium, H₂, N₂ | Trace | |
| Tritium Recovery | Research in separating tritium from deuterium, after the use of heavy water (D2O) in nuclear reactors. | Deuterium, Tritium | Trace |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tritium Recovery | Research in separating tritium from deuterium, after the use of heavy water (D2O) in nuclear reactors. | Deuterium, Tritium | Trace |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pipelines containing gas feedstocks such as natural gas | Gas producers and gas pipeline end users have specifications requiring low ppm O2 in natural gas. | Hydrocarbon feed-stocks, Natural Gas | Trace | |
| Pipelines containing gas feedstocks such as natural gas | Gas producers and gas pipeline end-users have specification requiring low ppm O2 in natural gas. | Hydrocarbon feed-stocks, Natural Gas | Trace |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Production of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyesters and other polymers | Feedstock polymerization reaction creates plastics that meet desired specifications. In certain processes N2 blankets prevent O2 contamination | Ethylene, N₂, Other, Propylene | Trace or Percent |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monitoring of Centrifuges | Drying of solvent-based pharmaceutical products often requires use of process centrifuges. To avoid flash fires, oxygen levels are kept under 2%. | N₂ | Percent |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV/E-beam Curing | Electron Beam and/or UV curing of certain plastics requires the curing be done in a low oxygen environment. Excessive levels of oxygen adversely affect the curing and product spoilage increases. | N₂ | Trace or Percent |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Plant Hydrogen-Cooled Generators | Hydrogen is an excellent cooling gas for turbine generators because it has a low viscosity and high thermal conductivity reducing friction & heat losses. | H₂ | Trace |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ensure the Quality of the Gas Generated | Pressure Swing Adsorption and Vacuum Swing Adsorption Systems often incorporate O2 monitors to help ensure gas quality. | Air | Percent |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CO2 Monitoring | Carbon dioxide is often measured as a process variable to indicate a completion or partial completion of chemical reactions. | Argon, Helium, H₂, N₂ | Trace or Percent | |
| Monitoring Oxygen In Confined Spaces | Monitor quality of breathing air to ensure that the cryogenic gases used in the labs don’t deplete the breathing air oxygen | N₂ | Percent |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annealing of Wafers | Silicon wafers are heat treated in an inert atmosphere, high temperature furnace. | Argon, Helium, H₂, Mixtures, N₂ | Trace |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Furnaces for production of ceramic components (sintering process) | Ceramic components are made from sintered materials which involve heat treating/bonding of powders to form a coherent shape. | N₂ | Trace or Percent |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measure precise levels of oxygen in gas cylinders | Analyzer is used to validate the concentration of oxygen in cylinders of specialty gases | Argon, etc., Helium, Nitrogen | Trace |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Production of nylon, orlon, and polyesters | Polymerization reaction. | H₂ | Trace |
| Application | Application Description | Gases of Concern | Range of Measurement | Recommended Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animal Recovery Chambers | Oxygen therapy is frequently used for pets recovering from surgery and/or disease | Air, Enriched Atmosphere | Percent |